The Taoiseach has officially opened 14 new social homes at St Michael's Court in Longford.
While on a visit to the town today Micheál Martin also commented on the proposed construction of modular housing at the former greyhound track.
He noted a meeting of elected representatives along with the Office of Public Works will take place on December 12th next and he believes it's a matter for the council to work with the OPW on.
However the Taoiseach also noted that lands lying idle for a considerable amount of time across the country needs to be used for housing.
On mentioning the former Connolly Barrack site, he said it like many other former Defense Forces facilities, need an overall development plan to regenerate economic activity with a mix of residential, micro-enterprise and amenities.
Speaking to Shannonside FM the Taoiseach says the OPW is identifying potential sites in good faith.
"People in this country need housing, the younger generations need housing. The OPW, in good faith, is identifying the public land that we have. We're working with agencies across the length and breadth of the country, state agencies, to say, what land have you available that we can use to build housing? There tends to be a possessive attitude by agencies and departments and we're saying from the centre, and I'm saying as Taoiseach, that we need to use land that hasn't been used in decades for housing".
